Anne Springs Close Greenway - Lake Haigler — Attraction in South Carolina

As a parent and Fort Mill resident since 2002, I have been a champion for this organization’s mission and the programs it offered. It seemed like a great place for kids to connect with nature, learn new things, and be part of a caring community. Unfortunately, after repeated disappointing experiences, I feel it’s important to share what’s really going on behind the scenes.

Over the past year, their youth offerings have changed drastically—and not in a good way. The new leadership overseeing this department seems to have stripped several camps down to the bare minimum. What used to feel like enriching, thoughtfully planned experiences now feel rushed, under-resourced, and lacking the quality we once appreciated. We will not be enrolling our child next year and will be looking at other options. After this experience, we also do not plan to renew our membership.

And frankly, being a member doesn’t mean much anymore. If you’re not a high-level donor or well-connected, your chances of getting into high-demand programs are slim. I overheard a conversation among two staff members where they were able to get a donor’s child into a full program after the donor threatened to pull support. A member services employee identified those two individuals as the heads of Advancement and Communications. One of them even joked that “if you want to get your child in, you better be a donor or know someone.” That kind of favoritism is both unethical and incredibly frustrating for regular families just trying to participate.

The Director of Communications has come across as cold, dismissive, and unprofessional in my interactions at fundraising events, and the woman in charge of Advancement is difficult to reach and extremely rude. Based on what I’ve heard and witnessed, it’s clear that families without influence or donation power are not a priority.

In general, there’s a clear disconnect between the organization’s polished image and its actual practices. Offerings that once felt community-centered now feel like they’re built to serve donors first and families second.

There are still good people trying to do meaningful work here, but the leadership culture is eroding the trust and integrity that used to make this organization special. Until there are serious changes, I would strongly encourage other families to think twice before...

This is like a more family friendly, less-crowded, more relaxed White water Center. My kids loved the forest play ground and we all enjoyed the kayaks/paddle boards. We were disappointed that the mountain biking skills area was closed even though that wasn't mentioned on the website. The reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because the lack of ease of access. We came from Charlotte and went to the adventure road entrance, which is not where the kayaks are. We had to leave the Greenway and drive 10 minutes to a different entrance. I was hoping to be able to park and then decide what we want to do from there and not have to get back in the car. It worked out fine but was annoying that I needed to plan my chill day outside. The other reason I took a star away was the cost. We had a coupon so got in free but we have a family of 7 so that's about $100 to go hiking and play on a playground. The price probably explains why it's not crowded because we probably won't be back due to price alone--we can park at the White Water Center $12 and hike for free. Nice place, if we lived closer I might consider a year pass, but the daily price and inability to get from one area of the park to another without leaving...

Someone commented about their outrageous fees and it reminded me of our outrageous story here. I forgot to leave a review. Of sometime 2022 or 2023.

We set out for a kayaking adventure and pulled up to Anne Springs asking where we could kayak. The lady explained just go down this road and there's a loop "convenient" for unloading. So we paid a crazy fee to get in but hell we already had the kayaks loaded and had friends from out-of-town with us so we went ahead.

We get to the loop and unload and start dragging our kayaks down the grass side of a gravel road. The road ends and turns to all gravel. We continue another 1/4 mile or so for about a 1/2 mile total of dragging our kayaks. Til we hit the water.

We come back up the trail dragging our kayaks on gravel until we hit the split that is car accessable but is tied off. We ask a worker if we can drive our car down to load but they refuse. So we end up dragging our kayaks again another 1/4 mile or so back to the top.

We paid Anne Springs a crazy fee to have no other option but drag our kayaks about a mile there and...